Johnny Lewis

New York producer and songwriter Johnny Lewis is set to release his debut self-titled album later this month. Earlier this week, the CMJ 2014 artist offered up one of the album’s tracks ahead of time, and we heard his delicate recapturing of a fleetingly reignited love affair with Uneasy Love. This morning, Lewis unveiled another of the album’s tracks. In contrast with the intricate Uneasy Love, Little veers a little closer to the traditional side of things, a tentative country ballad that opens up as it progresses. Perhaps revealing Lewis’ background in electronic music production, the song has an unusual and tentative dreaminess to it, like a country boy that moved to the city and hasn’t been quite the same since.

This record has been advertised a lot as a “progressive dream folk” record. Do you think your electronic background has a direct bearing on your approach to folk music?

I would say that it had to. I mean, I grew up on “folk music.” We’d sit in basements and listen to Dylan and Young all night long. We grew up feeling that music was forever. But we live in a time where the prevalence of electronic music in undeniable unless you just decide to ignore it. I started makin’ electronic music because the community I was around that time was filled with it. I was also young and impressionable and wanted to be a part of a scene. But sounds I discovered inside computers opened my ears to much more than just a fingerpicking style on the acoustic guitar. I figured, “Hey, I could use these sounds in some songs I wrote…maybe.”

It’s also interesting that your move to New York coincided with your commitment to folk songwriting, despite time spent in Colorado and Minnesota. Do you see Johnny Lewis as a city album, or a country album?

Well I’d consider it a “progressive dream folk” album, right? (laughs) The songs on this record were definitely birthed from my moving to New York. There’s nothing, in my opinion, more shattering to your equilibrium as when you first arrive in New York. But I didn’t have a life in New York yet. So I’d imagine they’d encompass both worlds. Funny really; it takes a move to the city to write about the country.

Uneasy Love is a really interesting song, structurally. It starts in one groove, then turns into more of a country ballad, and then goes back to the fingerpicking groove at the end. How did it take that shape?

Well, I don’t really have a recollection of when exactly I wrote it. There are a lot of instances where I want more out of a song than a set tempo can accommodate. The thing is, it becomes hard for people to follow that. You gotta hold something down. My band members always think this song is a bit tricky. And it is.

You told Under The Gun that Uneasy Love is at least somewhat autobiographical. Do you often write songs based on autobiography?

I think everything is autobiographical. Songs have to come from somewhere. Even if you are writing on an outside subject or watching a scene from afar, you still have to digest that. Whatever you are experiencing has to go through your subconscious and conscious before it can come out as a song, a painting, a poem, a film, whatever. It becomes part of your life and your take on what you’re lookin’ at.

Little is just a stunning song. What are the origins for that one?
Now that’s an autobiographical song! That’s a breakup song, man! I wrote that song when I arrived in NYC. I had just gone through many forms of breakups. With a girl, a band and even my hometown, a bit. Everything seemed to cave in at that time. NYC became my new home because I could let everything go and play my guitar again. And I liked that.

The word “little” also comes up a lot on this record as the first part of a nickname, especially in Symbol. Is there a significance there for you?
Let’s just say I’m not giving them too much creed.

What’s the oldest song on this album?

I wrote all of these songs in a short amount of time. They were all written in practically a two month span. They vary in age, but not significantly.

How did you know that this album should be self-titled?

I was going call this record Age but thought I’d leave titling a record for future albums. I really wanted to get a self-titled record out of the way so I could free myself up for other endeavors in the future.

This album has a really lush sound. Was that always the instrumentation you envisioned for these songs?

No. The guy who did this record had a very clinical way of producing. He had about 50 guitars in his apartment and kept throwing them my way. And then he’d get a shaker. And then add all these pads and sounds and keep tucking them away deeper into the mix. He’d just layer and layer to a point I thought it was gonna sound muddy. But then I’d show up the next day and the songs are cleaned up and everything.

Songs like Familiar Chime have this real warm, comforting vibe, whereas certain songs are more stark. Do you see Johnny Lewis as a sad record?

I think you could find some sadness and heartbreak in there. I think we’ve all dealt with that. The trick is to come out the other side with something to say about it. Life isn’t as romantic as a good song when you’re caught up it in. But if you can take a step back and look around once in a while, maybe it is. - CMJ

Johnny Lewis played Mercury Lounge to celebrate the release of his self-titled debut album. His early show set started off with NYC’s Wyatt. Fronted by singer/songwriter Maddy Wyatt, the five piece band played old songs as well as some funky grooves off their soon to be released album.

Johnny Lewis took to the stage, with his Joe Strummer haircut, high-slung guitar and the vocals and songwriting of Elvis Costello. Between songs of his high energy set he kept everyone entertained with his quick-witted banter. He’s heading out on the road, but he’ll be back in NYC at the end of October. If you get the chance I would check him out. You won’t be disappointed. - Pancakes & Whiskey

It took Johnny Lewis a little while (and a cross-country move) to come around to folk music. He cut his teeth as a producer for indie electronic acts like Lizzo and Bokonon, before becoming a full-fledged performer in his own right, opening for major acts like The Flaming Lips, and then moving to New York City, where he picked up an acoustic guitar and never looked back. The resulting sound — self-described as “progressive dream folk” — fuses the best of what he learned on the electronic music scene with classical Americana and north-country folk. His self-titled debut drops on September 23rd. Personally, we recommend checking out his stellar Daytrotter session, previewing the track “Familiar Chime,” and catching him live on his upcoming tour. - Brooklyn Magazine

New York producer and songwriter Johnny Lewis is set to release his debut self-titled album later this month. Earlier this week, the CMJ 2014 artist offered up one of the album’s tracks ahead of time, and we heard his delicate recapturing of a fleetingly reignited love affair with Uneasy Love. This morning, Lewis unveiled another of the album’s tracks. In contrast with the intricate Uneasy Love, Little veers a little closer to the traditional side of things, a tentative country ballad that opens up as it progresses. Perhaps revealing Lewis’ background in electronic music production, the song has an unusual and tentative dreaminess to it, like a country boy that moved to the city and hasn’t been quite the same since. - CMJ

This debut album from acoustic-based, singer-songwriter Johnny Lewis has yet to hit the streets, but when it does, I hope people will sit up and take notice. Hailing from Minneapolis, Johnny Lewis had spent his earlier days in music working in the electronic forum. But his love of acoustic music made him sit down, write songs and move to New York to begin his solo career. He’s made the right choices. This album comes along at a perfect time of the year – warm, yet soothing; rich and lush, yet moving through time and with just-right production.

From the moment “Ancient No Name” comes in with its slide guitar runs, I’m hooked. The vocals, melody – in a lot of ways, it has a great, ’70’s-styled country rock feel and that’s more than fine. Great vocals, great melody. The laid-back feeling carries into “Familiar Chime”; catchy, ringing acoustic guitars and sweet harmonies on the chorus make this a standout. “Back To Lakes” is another (quietly) pedal-steel driven number; slower and thoughtful with multi-layered vocals; “Reckless Paradise” incorporates a soulful organ working in perfect tandem with the delicious acoustic guitar strums that gently punch their way through the track which picks up on the chorus.

You don’t get debut albums as solid as this one. Make sure you actively seek out Johnny Lewis’ debut.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED - PopDose

Many of you may have noticed that the holiday weekend slowed the flow of new content on UTG in recent days, but today we have made it a point to show you we haven’t slacked in the slightest with a slew of big features, as well as a slew of news posts. My favorite piece of the day, which is included in this very post, comes from none other than producer turned songwriter Johnny Lewis.

We have the great honor of sharing with the world a never before heard Johnny Lewis recording titled “Uneasy Love.” The song hails from Lewis’ upcoming self-titled album, and it has all the makings of a dream pop genre classic. When asked about the song’s origin, Johnny told us “This song came on a lake in Northern Minnesota while I was having a short lived reunion with a high school fling. The air was perfect then. The end was inevitable.”

You can stream “Uneasy Love” below: - Under The Gun

Today we are happy to share a little sway and swagger from Johnny Lewis with the exclusive premiere of the song “Little” from his upcoming self-titled, debut album releasing September 23.

Steeped in Americana with a country backbone, this song takes an unexpected folky turn when the vocal enters. Its sing-songy vibe is a bit off-kilter, but not in a bad way.

Lewis shares, "This was the first song I wrote of the songs on this new album. I can't remember who it was about anymore, though I do remember the feeling I got when I wrote it. I can kinda get lost in this thing when I'm playing it live."

A producer turned songwriter, Lewis releases his self-titled, debut album on vinyl and digitally on Sept 23, 2014. Leading to the release, Johnny Lewis will perform with his six piece ensemble at Mercury Lounge in New York City on Monday, September 8 at 7pm.

Lewis' musical background is not that of the ordinary Folk Artist. Stemming from Minneapolis, MN, Johnny moved to Colorado in 2008 to pursue electronic production for a number of touring acts including The Larva Ink, Lizzo, Bokonon and many more.

He became accepted into the festival community and opened extensively for national acts such as The Flaming Lips and EOTO, but after tirelessly working in the electronic world, Lewis came to terms with his obsession for acoustic music. This in turn, drove him away from production and into his passion - writing songs.

After his stints in Colorado and Minneapolis, Johnny began slowly moving away from the electronically oriented acts he had formed and the scene he had engrained himself in and moved to New York City to start his music career over. He wrote dozens of songs and decided it was time to release his first solo record.

The rest of Johnny Lewis is a fusion of dream-folk, Americana and meticulously layered production, combining all spectrums of Lewis’ affections. - Guitar World

Phoning in from Manhattan, Johnny Lewis sat down with Atwood to discuss the release of his upcoming self-titled album. His music blends acoustic tunes and electronic undertones, producing new age north-country sound. Once the album album drops on September 23rd, Johnny Lewis plans to start touring, starting with the east coast.

YOUR PRESS RELEASE MENTIONS YOUR SIX-PIECE ENSEMBLE: HOW’D YOU MEET YOUR BAND MEMBERS AND ARE THEY CONSISTENTLY THE SAME PEOPLE?
No, it’s consistently changing. It’s mostly regional, wherever I’m at in the country. I have one for the Mid West and East Coast. Within the City it usually is pretty much the same group though.
WHAT SHOULD WE BE EXPECTING WHEN YOUR ALBUM IS RELEASED?
A lot of shine, and a lot of words. I think the people are going to have to decide for themselves the feel of the album. I have my own opinion of what it is, but people are going to have to listen to it to come to those conclusions. I think naturally the songs in the album are pretty consistent because of the place I was in at the time when I was making it. It sounds pretty fluid.
Johnny Lewis’ self titled album cover art.

JohnnyLewisCoverArt

WHEN YOU WERE WRITING THIS ALBUM, WHAT IS THE MAIN MESSAGE THAT YOU WERE TRYING TO CONVEY?
I was just trying to paint whatever feelings I was having. I had written the songs: trying to translate them onto a record was probably the hardest bridge to walk across, translating it onto a vinyl and have it have it represent what I wanted. A lot of the songs are just stream of consciousness. I don’t aim for anything in particular.
HOW LONG HAD YOU BEEN WORKING ON THIS ALBUM UNTIL YOU KNEW IT WAS WHAT YOU WANTED IT TO BE?
To write it, it took about two month. To record, took like six or seven.
WHICH SONG HOLDS THE MOST MEANING FOR YOU AND WHY?
I think the closest thing I’d come to a commercial achievement on the record is Familiar Chime.
IS THERE A SPECIFIC SONG YOU FIND YOURSELF PLAYING AGAIN AND AGAIN EITHER WHILE WARMING UP OR PRACTICING?
Oooo that is a good question…let’s see, I guess right now what I’m playing a lot of is, well I’m trying to learn a lot of Charlie Patton. Otherwise I’ll play a lot of my friends’ songs. Another song that I love to play is Bob Dylan’s “You’re Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go.” That’s one of my favorite songs.
HOW HAS NEW YORK HELPED DEFINE YOUR SOUND?
When I came to New York, I was tossed into a hive that doesn’t demand a definition of what you are or coming into. Therefore, it forces you to carve out individually who you are and what you want to be and what you want to affiliate with and what kind of feelings you want to feel. I think that’s what New York did: it made me sculpt myself a little bit.
HAVE THERE BEEN ANY ACTS IN NEW YORK THAT HAVE MOST STUCK OUT TO YOU?
I saw Nick Cave at Prospect Park and he completely blew me away. He put me somewhere else. A lot of the people I’ve seen in New York are not actually from New York so it’s strange to say that there are New York acts because they’re from all over the place really.
HOW DOES YOUR ELECTRONIC BACKGROUND OVERLAP WITH YOUR ACOUSTIC HERITAGE?
Well to be honest, I tried to divorce my relation with electronic music pretty sharply when I moved to New York. I sold my laptop, my computer, my mini-controller and keyboards, headphones, auto tuners…all the stuff. I dropped it, but I don’t think it dropped me because when I was in the studio recording my album, it came back around. The producer I was working with really thought that the electronic rhythms matched with my acoustic sounds so we compiled both genres into the record. It’s definitely still lingering with me in the stratosphere. JohnnyLewis4_ShervinLainez
WAS IT BITTERSWEET WHEN YOU DROPPED IT?
Yea it was because pressing play on stage is fun since you don’t have to pay attention [laughs] but I had gotten through it and experienced it as much as I could. It taught me so much, you know? So I don’t think it was a conscious kind of thing, just that time. It was a gradual thing to switch to acoustic. I had been producing for so many people in Minneapolis (where I moved from) and Denver too. I’d just begun to feel a little disconnect from what I was making. And so getting my fingers back on the strings put me back in my place. I gravitated to it.
ASIDE FROM MUSIC, WHAT DO YOU DO REGULARLY?
I love to paint when I can, when I can afford to buy oil paint. I read a lot, as much as I can. I love going to all the gardens in New York just to walk around. Giving yourself space and time is one of the most important things. So many people get caught up in the whirlwind. It’s nice to settle in the silence and be one with the force.
WHAT’S THE BEST PIECE OF ADVICE YOU’VE BEEN GIVEN AS A MUSICIAN?
It wasn’t a musician that told it to me but I was at a retreat in Colorado and someone mentioned to me something about frequency. Just being able to identify which frequencies in this reality resonate best with you. That’s the best piece of advice I’ve been given and it applies to all areas of my life. If you’re unsettled, you’re not going to find any truth from yourself. - Atwood Magazine